


I see you, 2000 years before

by Baphiwens



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Eren, Blood and Gore, Eventual Eren vs Armin, Eventual King Eren, F/M, Feral Eren Yeager, Friends to Lovers, OOC Eren, Pregnancy, Romance, Slow Burn, Solitary Eren, Untrusted Eren, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baphiwens/pseuds/Baphiwens
Summary: A rescued Eren has to integrate back into society, learn to follow the chain of command and trust the friends from his childhood, all whilst simultaneously plagued by visions of the future he does not understand and watching the girl he's certain he's going to marry fall for another. For him, being back inside the Walls wasn't any easier than being outside of them.
Relationships: Jean Kirstein & Eren Yeager, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Eren Yeager, Levi & Eren Yeager, Levi & Erwin Smith, Mikasa Ackerman & Eren Yeager, Reiner Braun & Eren Yeager
Comments: 30
Kudos: 142





	1. Upon Waking Up

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!
> 
> This is the first chapter of my planned AoT story. It isn't beta'ed, so there may be mistakes despite my best efforts.
> 
> Still, I hope you enjoy it.

_"All of us suffered. We've lost parents, siblings, comrades... Trying to save Paradis. I'm planning on stopping that cycle once and for all -"_

_"Everyone will look at you differently."_

_"Doesn't matter. We'll be safe. They can see me as the monster as much as they want then."_

_"The destruction you've unleashed now is already enough to make them and everyone else for generations to come safe, if you just stopped and considered the idea of the neutrality pact-"_

_"I'm going to make sure that we never have to worry about some pact being broken, can't you see?"_

_"...I understand! But no one wants their freedom to be born out of... out of this!"_

_"Maybe, but it's us or them and I'm the only one willing to make the choice right now. So I'll take on the burden."_

* * *

Opening his eyes was the hardest part for Eren Yeager. It wasn't because he'd be waking up to the worries of the day, knowing he was going to spend part of the day hunting or scavenging for food, or that if there was an expedition close to him, he would spend the day avoiding detection. No, it was the headache that threatened to split his head in two that made waking up a living hell.

Sometimes, if the dreams had pulled Eren in too deep - he'd wake up screaming from the pain, having completely forgotten that it existed.

Now... Now he just felt dizzy. He clutched at his head, his breathing becoming heavy and a small cry breaking out of his closed mouth. His vision grew increasingly blurry, but he fought to stay conscious. Going back into the darkness wouldn't do now, despite how hard avoiding it seemed to be with his mind screaming at him to give in, and just fall down unconscious so the pain would stop.

Everything always seemed impossible during mornings like these. He felt compelled to go to the walls or simply to hand himself over to the scouts. Maybe everything would make more sense if he was inside the walls, when he was surrounded by people. Maybe then he could actually identify the man and others that appeared in the...visions

It felt like hours before it began to subside, but it could have only been a few minutes. There was an uncomfortable sensation on his cheek, and he was slow to wipe away the wetness on them upon realising that he had been crying, but his hands came up with a familiar clank.

Erens eyes blinked open immediately, and he sat up quickly, intensifying the persisting headache but he was too worried to care. He was in a small, brightly lit, room, with a bucket in one corner, a desk and chair close to another corner, and he was on what he remembered to be a bed. There was a closed window to his right, and a shut wooden door to his left

"Where...How..."His voice was raspy and quiet. Strange, since he spoke to himself more often than he thought in his mind. How could it have gotten so underused?...

 _Inside the walls? But...That makes no sense,_ He had been in the forest - on the boughs of a tree, where he usually slept - some ways away from even the fallen wall Maria - how was it possible that he was back inside the walls? Being in constant danger outside the walls had made him a light sleeper, there was no way he could have been moved without him waking up.

Eren looked down to his hands, and found them shackled - his eyes followed the chains of the shackles to the wall behind him. The length was enough for him to sleep comfortably, and move around the room somewhat and but he doubted he could reach the door or window.

Most importantly, he could bite take a bite out of his hand - something that told him that whoever had put him here, didn't know that he could transform into a Titan. A fact that made him a bit more calm. If he was back in the walls, he shouldn't be in too much danger, they would see him as just another human, likely after some questions about how he survived in Titan territory as a boy.

He would answer some of them honestly, but he would keep his Titan abilities a secret.

The sound of approaching people drew his eyes up to the door. Two men walked into his vision, one was a tall man, with neatly kept blond hair and dressed in-

 _'No way,'_ He raised his head to get a better view of them. They were both in military uniform, and they were both part of the Survey Corps at that - the winged insignia on their uniform giving them away. That told him that he was in the walls, something that he had still mounted despite the impossibility of it all. Now he felt like a bit of an idiot, where else could he have possibly been?

The taller, blond man stared at him with a calm expression, as did his shorter, dark-haired counter-part.

"You didn't need to put me in chains," It felt right to say. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong - as far as he could recall...Then again, he couldn't even recall getting here.

His words were met with momentary silence, something that worried Eren. Maybe he shouldn't have spoken at all, he might have just made them more sus-

"Being outside of the walls is illegal. And besides, we have no idea of your intentions, "The blond man spoke calmly, in a voice that did not betray his trust or distrust for Eren, "Nor do we know who you are. This feels appropriate," He paused, still staring at Eren passively, "I'm Commander Erwin from the Survey Corps, and this is Captain Levi - also of the Survey Corps."

"I'm Eren Jaeger," He said it clearly, his voice starting to recover and try not to convey his worry about the potential trouble he was in for being outside the wall. He had been a child when he had gone out, how was he to know? Mentally shaking his head, he refocused on them. For a moment, he stared at Levi - he looked familiar to Eren, but he knew he's never seen the man in his life.

 _'So they're from the scouts... Did they find me?'_ No, they couldn't have - it was difficult to travel at night, even with a torch. The chances of them find him in a tree were slim, but, he had to assume, "How did you find me?"

"We found you in the morning three days ago, dazed and unconscious close to Wall Rose. I had assumed you were dead at first, but you looked untouched and uninjured. Although you were quite thin, you looked otherwise fine - which was strange. It almost looked like you had fallen on your way to the Wall from some long journey. The Titans around didn't seem to have any interest in your body either, for reasons we're curious of...And that's all _we_ know," The Commander took a step closer to him, "Care to explain to us where you came from?"

"Outside the walls," That felt a bit obvious to Eren, so figured they wanted to know his story, "I've been out there since the Maria was breached-"

"That's bullshit. You expect us to believe you survived in Titan territory for five years? How old were you when it was breached... 9?" The shorter man - Levi - interjected

"Enough," Erwin looked back to his companion for a moment, before turning back to Eren, "You understand that being out there from such a young age, alone and surviving for five years is questionable, at best."

"I wasn't alone... Not whilst I was still learning to survive, anyway," It was an honest answer, even though he didn't fully understand it himself, "I never saw whoever was with me out there, but I saw the things they did for me. I usually slept atop the trees, because I felt it was the safest place to be, and when I woke up I'd find food close to me and dead Titans at the base of the trees I slept on. I was confused at first, but I got to understand that someone else was with me there, and whoever it was, was helping me get by."

They didn't convey it with their features, but Eren knew that it perplexed them - that, or they didn't believe him at all.

"You said whilst you were still learning, how long did this go on for?" Erwin asked him.

"Two years... After that, the person just stopped... And I just lived on my own. Scavenging as best as I could during moonless nights, and surviving" _'Learning how to control my Titan and having dreams that made me want to give up,_ he left that part unsaid, "I don't remember leaving the forest, let alone trying to make my way to the walls. I don't know how I could've gotten as close I did, or why the Titans had no interest in me."

This time, his words were met with silence as they both kept their gaze on him. It was almost unnerving for him, how they didn't seem to be surprised by anything he said despite them hearing it all for the first time...Maybe that was why they did it. To unnerve him, and make him tell them everything without withholding information. Just as he was now.

"Did you plan on living out there forever? Or did you have plan?" Levi questioned stoically.

 _'Study my Titan,' "_ I had no plan. The forest was the safest place I could've been at the time, and the Survey Corps made no attempts at retaking the Shiganshina District as far as I could see. My only intention was to survive for as long as I could," That was partly honest. At the beginning, it was his intention, but that had changed to trying to understand his abilities when he found out he could transform into a Titan. Still, even then coming back was impossible, because other Titans still pursued him even in his Titan form, and say he did make it back, his life would still be in danger, because of the people he was running to seeing him as a Titan.

"I see," Erwin was the one to speak this time, his voice steady, "Well, you don't have to worry about getting into trouble for being outside the Walls. It's clear that this is no fault of your own, after all, the wall was breached and you had to find means of survival, and so you were not purposefully out there. I see no need to subject you to a case. I'll put you down as a rescued civilian."

"Does that mean I'm free to go?" Erens gaze shifted to the shackles.

"It does, but how do you feel about being subject to research?"

His eyes snapped to the commander "Research?"

"I've never seen Titans react the way they did with you," The blond man explained, "I've seen them devour men who fell off their horses unconscious and others who were sick or otherwise unwell... They didn't care, but with you...If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were protecting you, but I understand that they were simply ignoring you. It would be invaluable if we were to understand why, and if it's special to you," He paused, staring at Eren intently, " _You_ would be an invaluable member of the scout's regiment."

 _'He's asking me to join the scouts?_ 'Erens eyes widened, and he found himself remembering his mother forbidding him from doing just that. The memory almost made him smile. Actually considering the idea, he wasn't sure, because he didn't understand why Titans left him alone. He knew it had something to do with his Titan form, and likely it was an ability he couldn't control. He didn't want it to manifest in a way that would betray him, but then, he wasn't sure how he would survive inside the Walls. Where would he even go?

"Don't I need training to join a regiment?"

"You do, which is why I'll get permission for you to receive special training whilst we see about the Titans avoiding you," Erwin retorted, "It'll be some years before you're allowed to leave on an expedition with the rest of the regiment."

"If I can't leave the walls, how will you look into the Titans avoiding me?" It didn't make sense to Eren, and disliked the idea of being incapable of helping to kill the Titans for _years_. How could they confirm anything, if he wasn't anywhere near the Titans?

"Hanji is responsible for Titan research, and she has some ideas for that. I have some of my own, but they will bring great risk to you."

He paused, and Eren was sure it was purposely done.

"Which is why we need your consent."


	2. A Familiar Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Another chapter here, hope you enjoy!

Eren had consented.

He had no choice. Not truly. Not if he wanted to be effective in killing the Titans, and helping humanity leave the walls. All that practice outside the walls had to amount to _something._ Even though he had to keep his powers a secret right now, he knew there would be a time where he would have to reveal them for the sake of humanity - that moment would be crucial.

Still, he was in a spot he didn't exactly like. Eren didn't trust himself enough to keep his titan abilities a secret for too long here, and he knew the danger he'd be in when people found out about him if the timing was wrong. They would execute him. Even if they didn't, he knew they would restrict him to the point where he would be completely useless.

That wasn't how he wanted to live.

With lingering doubts about the idea regarding the crucial moment that might not even come, he contemplated telling them outright. He felt it would make his position a bit better, what with him telling them the truth. They would have to see he meant no harm then...Right?

_'Don't be stupid, they'll cut you down,'_ Eren submerged himself in the bath, and tried to relax. It had been a long since he had bathed in warm water, and having gotten used to the cold water of the river, it was odd being inside the water, so much so he had felt compelled to switch the hot water for cold. He opted to just endure it. He doubted that Levi would have let him do it, regardless.

Levi had been asked by Erwin to escort Eren to the barracks, or the mess hall if he was hungry, something he had promised to do only after Eren had sorted out his hygiene. It wasn't an unreasonable request, Eren decided - it had been years since he had used soap, and although Eren didn't notice it, he was sure he smelt bad. His face had been marred by dirt and by blood he was half sure was his own. Though he couldn't be sure it was his, he still couldn't recall ever trying to make his way towards Wall Rose.

Leaving the bath and preparing to dress, he pondered on that. If he had made it so close to Wall Rose, that meant he had travelled through the night until morning - which made sense to him, it was the best time to travel, since the sky had been cloudy and the Titans were inactive. However, how could he travel so much and not recall doing so at all? And why, when morning came, did the Titans decide to ignore him?

Eren had been through the most desperate of times - when food was scarce and he was the most alone he's ever been, when surviving was impossible and he felt it would be easier to end himself then and there than to go through another day of starvation and constant fear. Through all that, the Titans were always there - roaming about and clawing at the tree they saw him go up to. He's never had to question their relation then, they wanted to kill him and he, them.

Until now.

Eren wasn't stupid, he knew if he were to go over the walls now, they would likely devour him. But what had made that morning so different?

Shaking his head, he decided to leave it for now. He wouldn't find answers. Not now, at least.

The clothes they left out were a bit loose on him, but that didn't come as a surprise to him. He was smaller than most.

When he left the bathhouse, he found Levi waiting for him in the corridor - leaning on the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. The older man turned to Eren for a moment.

"You're a lot better now. You looked like shit before," Levi commented in a way Eren was beginning to understand as his usual blunt manner. If there was anything Eren liked about him, it would be that.

Having nothing to say to that, Eren opted to say nothing at all.

"I take it you're hungry?"

Erens stomach had yet to complain to him, but he knew he was hungry. He sometimes went almost a week without consuming anything outside of water, and after some days - it felt as if the hunger had just went away on its own somehow, "Yeah...I am."

Levi glanced at him for a second but said nothing to him - only walking on. Eren probably imagined it, but the look he got almost appeared to be sympathetic. Or pity. Even when he was younger, and surrounded by people - he's never been able to tell which it was. Though much like a lot of things lately, he wasn't exactly sure why the captain would feel either of those things.

_'Does he... feel bad for me?'_ The mere thought of that annoyed him. Surviving out there was an accomplishment, not something to be pitied because of how difficult it must've been for him.

_'_ I don't want your pity, so don't give it to me,' The words wanted to come out, but he just stared. Was that how things were going to be here? Would he constantly be looked at with sympathy because of how he had lived? Eren didn't know what he had expected the response of his survival to be, but he didn't want it to be that - he would rather go back outside the walls and help humanity on his own for it to be that.

"Don't ever look at me like that again."

* * *

Eren was alone in the mess hall, now sporting a bruise on the shoulder he continued to feel out - staring at the steaming soup and bread in front of him in thought.

_"You should be careful who you talk to like that. I'll let it pass, but your other superiors won't be so kind."_

He still didn't get why - why he'd been roughly pushed onto a wall, and 'disciplined', as the passing scouts put it. Was he not meant to speak his mind? Even if a 'superior' did something he didn't like, was he meant to keep timid and move on? That didn't sit well with him. It felt constraining and was a far cry from what he was used to. As he kid, he remembered his outburst, and he was never punished for speaking out, but merely for what he spoke out for.

What exactly were they even fighting for, if even they kept each other on leashes that tight?

_'Is that what it means to be part of the military? Sacrificing some of your freedom for the bigger idea?'_

A headache coming on and unable to resist his urge anymore, he picked off a piece of bread before dipping it in the soup and putting it in his mouth.

It wasn't long before he was stuffing himself.

Food was scarce for him, evident in his small form. Berries and wild vegetables were usually the only things he could find, and what he mostly survived on. Sometimes he caught a wandering squirrel on a tree for meat, but they were difficult for him to catch so he usually didn't waste the energy- that's how he survived, saving his energy where he could and using it when he had to. Most of its use could be attributed to the use of his Titan.

Eren didn't even remember the taste of bread, or that of soup. Nor could he remember getting this full in one sitting.

Sometimes he paused, nausea overcoming him, but when he held it in, he went back to eating.

"Eren..." The familiarity of the voice made him stop, but he was slow to turn to it - an irrational fear his food disappearing making him reluctant to.

It was a girl, tall and pale-skinned, with chin-length black hair. Next to her was a shorter, blond-haired boy, who looked to be as astounded as she was.

Others walked in from behind them, splitting into the hall - glancing at Eren as they collected their food, but Eren wasn't focused on them. He stood, his mind reeling, recalling everything, from the scarf around the girl's neck to the pink state the boys nose always was. For some reason, they were a lot older in the image he held of them. Something that could be attributed to his dreams, he decided.

Finally, he allowed himself to smile.

"I wondered if-" He couldn't finish, because they had rushed him at that moment, roughly embracing him before he could react.

This...was strange. For five years, the only time he's ever experienced affection like this was in his dreams. He had been growing used to living everyday out alone, with no one to give him a pat on his back whenever he caught a squirrel or found more berries that usual. Affection was something he thought he didn't need anymore, or rather, was something he chose to not to linger on because it held him back. Now, their touch just made him feel uneasy.

He let them hold him still, despite his moderate discomfort, and it only got worse when he realised they were both shedding tears.

"Hey-"

_"I don't...I can't..."_

_"Y-you'll have to. You know what happens if you don't do it now," Everything was distorted. It took Eren a moment to realize he wasn't in the hall anymore, but somewhere else - looking up to what looked to be a smoke-filled sky, with droplets that he deduced was rain slapping his face. Hovering over him were two, red and blurry figures that were unrecognizable to him._

_"W-What?" He barely managed to get it out._

_Both figures turned to him._

"Eren!"

"Are you okay?" The Jaeger blinked, his vision clearing to the sight of his two concerned looking childhood friends, who had back off of him.

"Armin...Mikasa...I'm alright," _'What the hell was that? Where did I go just now?_ It seemed to be another mystery he would get no answer to. He took another step towards his friends and got into another uncomfortable embrace in the hopes it would come again.

Nothing.

"I wondered if you guys had made it to safety," He spoke before they could ask more questions in a concerned display as they separated. Being inside the walls gave him more questions, instead of the answers he sought out, "I remember Hannes grabbed you two and ran."

"He thought you'd follow him, but when he'd ran too far and looked back, you weren't there," Armin was still teary-eyed when he glanced next to him, "Mikasa never forgave him for leaving you behind..."

Eren turned to Mikasa, who had yet to even utter a word to him. Her gaze was disbelieving, and her chin and mouth covered by the black scarf he had given her all those years ago.

"We should sit down," He said, but immediately regretted it. It didn't feel appropriate to say in the moment, but he didn't even know what he could say, or what exactly he was meant to do in this situation. Once, he would've been able to give her assurances with a measure of confidence - now, anything he thought about saying felt off, simply _not enough_ or uncomfortable for him to want to say.

They did sit down after Armin had gotten his own and Mikasas food, but she was still staring at Eren - something that continued to unnerve him as the hall filled and more people took notice of Erens presence.

"Y-you don't look well," Having calmed down from the shock of seeing him, Armin looked unsure and his gaze was on his food as he spoke, "You were out there... This entire time?"

Eren gave a slow nod, glancing at Mikasa, "I did follow behind Hannes, but I tripped and I couldn't follow the same path behind you because a Titan had cut me off. I tried to find a clear detour, but I ended up being cornered with another girl in an alley who just kept screaming... Everything after that... Is a blur in my mind."

That was the truth. He didn't remember ever even leaving the breached walls, or even leaving the alley where he had been cornered. A lot of things, even to him, were shrouded in mystery. He hoped when he was inevitably asked more precise questions about his survival by his 'superiors', they would believe him.

"You don't remember anything at all?" Armin looked at him curiously

"Just snippets of being carried, and sometimes being in the air. The last part never made any sense to me, so I always thought it was just a dream," Eren met Armins gaze with a serious expression, and to his dismay, that seemed to make him nervous, "But I had to have gotten to the forest somehow."

"You lived in a forest?..."He adopted a thoughtful expression.

"I'm not dreaming?"Mikasa suddenly speaking drew both of their attention.

Eren almost laughed.

"You're actually here?" She went on, her expression still unsure - as if he could disappear in front of her very eyes at any moment. Eren could hear the tears in her voice still.

"I'm real," He assured her in a way that left no doubt - his hand twitched to provide another sort of assurance, but it did not rise. They both watched her, hoping that his confirmation would be enough to pull her out of her thoughts. As if she had not just hugged him moments passed, she moved her hand towards his on the table.

Eren pulled his away.

"It's okay... I'm really here," Eren gaze slowly fell to his retracted hand. He didn't want to get caught in another one of those visions or feel the uneasy sensation that came with their touch, ' _She isn't going to bite your hand off. She's your friend,_ ' Even with that thought and understanding, he still kept his hand close. He didn't know where the desire to avoid simple touch came from.

"I thought-I thought you were dead," Mikasa went on, a bit more believing than before.

"I'm sorry," For once, that felt like the correct thing to say for him regarding it all, "If I could've made it back to you guys without dying, I would've," Lying to them should've made him feel bad, but it as easy as lying to Erwin and Levi. Was that what it had all come to? Lying to his best friends this easy?

Eren didn't know what sort of people they had become. Maybe that's what it was. Why their touch made him nervous. He didn't... trust them?

_'Why?_ They'd done nothing to him. They were one of the few remnants of his life as a kid, and if he could trust anyone, it had to be them. Even their reaction to see him - despite the dismay it brought him - proved that they cared for him. He cared for them too, he knew it and felt it...But then why was his first instinct to shy away from them?

"I... I know," Mikasa retorted, nodding her head slowly and sniffing - visibly growing more serious.

"It must have been hard for you. I can't even imagine how you must've struggled to survive. But you were always so stubborn," Armin put in, smiling slightly, "How did you do it?"

Eren took a moment before repeating most of what he had told Erwin to them. When the other scouts around realized that he was explaining his story, they started gathering around them - much to his dismay, but he went on, telling them of the help he had from his first few years to his use of the trees for safety and his reliability of the river that had been nearby.

"You climbed up and down all those trees every day? Weren't you ever scared of falling?" A shaven haired boy, who must have been only _just_ taller than Levi asked.

"I always was... And though I never really fell, I almost slipped every day."

"How did you carry the food you managed to get?"

"I used the clothes I had on me during my first few years and turned them into a makeshift bag."

"So that's why you were almost naked when we found you. You _had_ no clothes to wear."

The voice was condescending and of a girl, not at all of someone simply curious. It drew the silence of the hall and everyone's eyes... All except Armins, who just kept glaring at Eren. Eren himself kept his gaze to the table - trying to avoid the continuous unease at being surrounded. _It's just people,_ he had to keep reminding himself, _It's okay._

"You try surviving out there for five years wearing the same clothes that fit you were ten and tell me all about it," Eren said, his response instinctive.

"What, and deal with sleeping right next to where I took a shit? No thank you," She went on, somehow sounding uninterested despite the spitefulness of her words, "And why are you stuck staring at the table? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were hiding something."

"Ymir, stop."

Erens eyes widened at the familiar - a name in his mind immediately surfacing at the voice. He was slow to raise his head, and he still found Armin watching him - albeit nervously, but Eren ignored his eyes, turning to the direction of the voice and uttering:

"Historia?"


	3. Secrets

It had come out impulsively, quick, before he could even think about stopping himself from uttering her name, and the regret had come just as quickly.

The mess hall was silent.

Most had already turned to Eren in confusion, with narrowed eyes and thoughtful expressions as they tried to make sense of the situation. The looks made Eren grow even more confused himself. Were they looking at him like that because he wasn't supposed to know her name or because she - the blond-haired, blue-eyed girl that he's sure he's seen dozens of times in his dreams - wasn't Historia?

Eren edged away on his seat when he grew a bit more nervous from their eyes being set on him.

No... No, this was her. His mind refused to differentiate her from the older version he dreamed of.

Most of his dreams were conversions with blurred men or tense battles he could barely comprehend. All of them with miserable undertones that made the waking headaches all the worse. The ones with her, however... they weren't bad. Eren still couldn't make sense of them, because they were still just as vague - sometimes they were shouting insignificant nonsense at each other, other times, they were alone in the dark of night, tightly holding hands as blood seeped through the gaps between their palms and Eren placed a string over their joint hands, distant voices calling out her name as the moon lit up her face:

_'Historia Reiss.'_

Eren knew better than to say her full name out loud now. There would more confusion, and a lot more questions he wouldn't be able to answer.

He did note, however, that unlike everyone else, she didn't look unsure. Her stare was almost stoic, and seemed to ask, _'How did you know that?'_ and not _'Who is that?'_

A laugh drew the rooms attention once more. The girl next to Historia - _Ymir,_ Eren remembered - guffawed, her head thrown backs as the sound of her pointed laugh filled the room, "This kid's crazy!"

Once, Eren would have agreed with the sentiment. Now... He wasn't so sure.

"I'm Krista," Her voice was kind, and forgiving - as if she were just correcting him after he had mistaken her for someone else. And to everyone else in the room, that was exactly what was happening.

_'That's not right,'_ He knew it wasn't. Every fibre of his being told him it wasn't. But... he couldn't correct her. No one knew of his dreams. Nor, had he ever met anyone in this room other than Armin and Mikasa. He'd come off as just crazy, as Ymir had said. So he said the only thing he could.

"Oh...sorry," He turned back to his table., and subsequently found Armin still staring, lost in thought, and Mikasa just looking confused still. Eren went back to eating, hoping everyone would just stop standing around with the realization he wouldn't continue answering any questions or go on with his story. After moments of awkward silence, they did go back to their respective tables - mummers filling the room.

He felt a bit more at ease with everyone away.

"Are you okay?" Mikasa was the first of his two friends to speak.

"I just... mistook her for someone else," Eren hoped that would be enough, but that was too much to ask for.

"Someone you knew from back then?" Armin was the one to speak this time. Eren didn't know how to answer, or if he even could answer without garnering some sort of suspicion. They were together all the time, when they were younger - it would be impossible for them to not know anyone he did.

"No, it doesn't matter. Just leave it," He finished what was left of the bread. Eren didn't miss the glance his two friends exchanged.

"What are they planning on doing with you?" Mikasa asked after a short pause, still sounding concerned. Eren was just happy at the change of subject, "Are they going to let you go?"

"They want to look into Titan behaviour around me, so they're keeping me close. Erwins' also getting permission to be trained by the scouts directly," They seemed to know what he meant by _looking into Titan behaviour_ , something that made him wonder if they were _all_ there three days ago.

"Erwin? You mean _Commander_ Erwin?" Armin inquired.

Eren shrugged with a nod, "I take it you guys became scouts?" He knew they were, but part of him didn't understand why - if he remembered right, Mikasa herself had discouraged him from joining when he had told her he wanted to join the regiment. She'd even gone as far as telling his mother in an attempt to dissuade him from ever doing so.

"Yeah, we have been for almost a month now. Our first expedition was meant to be three days ago, but then they found you and we fell back because of the strange way the Titans seemed to behave around you," Armin explained, finally deciding to eat his own food, Mikasa next to him doing the same, "There were a lot of rumours around that... Some people even thought that the Titans were scared of you," Armin finished, smiling a bit.

"Only idiots would really believe that... Those monsters don't feel anything," Mikasa put in, her voice laced with disdain.

"But they must've felt something... Why else would they act that way around Eren? Its the only thing that makes sense," Armin had partly turned to Eren, as if expecting him to make it all make sense.

"I was unconscious, I don't remember anything about that day. Even the parts that I should remember, like going towards Wall Rose, are blank spots in my mind," He retorted, shrugging lightly

That visibly dismayed Armin.

"How far off from the Walls _were_ you?" Mikasa asked.

"Some ways away from Shiganshina.I'm not exactly sure how far."

"That's...That's insanity... The fact that you survived out there, all this time - so far away from any sort of supplies you may have been able to scavenge. With basically no clothes, and barely any food to get through the hot summers and the harsh winters... It's almost unbelievable," There was a nervous edge in Armin's voice.

"Yeah, I...Sometimes I woke up confused as to how I kept it all going for as long as I did," If something like that had come out from anyone but Armin, he would have thought it to be some sort of accusation. There was no way it was. Eren hadn't given them much reason to be suspicious of how he survived at all. Armin was smart, but there was no way he could've deduced that Eren was withholding information whilst he told them his story.

Unless...

_Why are you stuck staring at the table? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were hiding something._ Eren turned to stare at his friend, Mikasa also glancing at Armin strangely. Did he buy into the sentiment? Eren had only been trying to stop himself from panicking. It was difficult for him in that moment, and he had been almost been incapable of understanding that people were around him, not Titans.

He glanced at the table where Ymir was sitting, annoyance etched on his features. The girl, to his surprise, was watching him too at the moment and offered a smile.

That only served to enrage him.

Who did she think she was? What did she know of what he had to go through to survive, and what gave her the right to make fun of that? Eren didn't even know what he had done for her to provoke her at all. She had just come at him, for seemingly no reason other than the idea of the way he had survived? So what if he took a shit right next to where he had slept?

He wished he had reacted when she had uttered those words. He wished he hadn't been so caught up with everyone around him.

Eren felt a hand on his own, and he was quicky to jerk his away - his eyes snapping to the source.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" It was another scout, grey-haired and brown-eyed - a scowl on a face that struggled to hide his own turmoil.

Eren felt something fall to his shirt, and he looked down to see. It was blood, and it stained the green shirt into an almost brown colour. Eren traced it back up to his hand. There were bite marks between the space of his thumb and wrist, where he usually bit when he transformed. He supposed this was a habit. When he was angry and damning the world, he fought Titan after Titan - pulling out of his own when he was brought down and filling the sky with lightning with another transformation.

Luckily for him, it didn't heal itself then.

"I need the bathroom," Eren said unnecessarily, standing up.

"I can show-" Mikasa stood too, but was brought back down by Armins hand, and he a nervous stare.

Eren left the hall thereafter, doing his best to stop his blood from falling to the floor.

_Good job, Eren,_ It had been a lousy first impression. Who would want to be in the company of someone they thought was a masochist? Despite that thought, he found he felt...nothing. He didn't care. Even though he knew he was supposed to. He would be in the same regiment as them, if all went as expected - he should care what and how they felt about him.

At least he thought he should.

_Armin and Mikasa?_ He tried to pull in some concern for what his friends thought of him, the people he had known and even dreamt of all his life. He should care. He did once.

Again, nothing.

...

_Historia?_

A pang.

* * *

They didn't trust him.

That much was clear to Eren, even before the guy he shared his bunk with - Jean Kirstein, as he was called - had moved to another one entirely, he had known. Armin had moved to the bed beneath Eren, in an attempt to pacify what he likely thought would be Erens concerns. Eren didn't blame them at all. After all, he didn't trust them in the slightest either.

Unlike Armin, Mikasa and Historia - they didn't look familiar in the slightest. They were complete strangers to him, as he was to them.

But Eren knew he had to get closer to them all. Despite having no yearning for any of their approval, they needed to get to like him. It would things less dangerous for him when the time for his first transformation came. If members of the scouts vouched for him, and insisted that he was on humanities side - it would all make his life that much easier when he had to plead his case.

It was easier said than done though.

Eren watched them from his bed, Armin seated next to him. The rest of the scouts spoke around their own beds. Every time he tried to convince himself to go to them, and apologize or _something,_ he felt himself grow nervous, his hands shook slightly and images of their eyes on him floating in his mind. Again, he felt like a simple _sorry_ wouldn't have fit or simply wasn't enough.

He knew their names now, at least. Mostly those from the 104th, courtesy of Armin and Mikasa. The one that had been the most intuitive was Connie, the one that had grabbed his now bandage hand when he was chewing on it was Jean, another boy who looked to be closest to Jean was Marco. There were others, Luke, Samuel, Thomas... Who never even looked his way.

"Who's Reiner?" Eren muttered, overhearing their excited words about said soldiers promotion.

"He's a friend of ours from the 104th who joined the Military Police... He was really good, and only came second to Mikasa. Not to mention he was one of the nicest guys there, and with the best leadership potential," Armin retorted, smiling a bit as he recalled, "It's no wonder he's already been promoted."

Eren only nodded. He needed a reputation like that. One that would have them doubt he would ever be against them when they ever saw him transform, but there were too many barriers stopping him from getting people to believe in him like that.

With a sigh, Eren decided that he had delayed it long enough and turned to Armin, "I think I'm gonna go use the bathroom."

A flash of disappointment ran across his face, but he nodded as he stood, "Sure, I guess I should get into bed now...We've got training tomorrow."

Levi said Eren would use the time to 'recover' whilst they waited for confirmation on his special training. He would obviously be away from the actual scouts, because of the obvious skill gap and the difficulty of the exercises. Armin had said the training was difficult but felt Erens survival in the forest would make it a lot easier for him. The shifter wasn't so sure, "Yeah... Goodnight Armin."

Eren stood and made for the exit of the barracks, passing the speaking group to glances they thought were discrete.

Outside the room, Eren wondered if he would be able to fake it for their trust. He didn't allude himself into ever thinking he had leadership potential or he that he was the sort of person they would ever get to like if he just acted like himself. He knew he was withdrawn and wasn't nearly as outgoing as he once was as a child. Being himself now would mean depending on himself and only himself.

That wouldn't win anyone over.

What he needed to do was go passed the bounds he was comfortable with. He needed to get used to being held by someone, in any way shape or form. He needed to learn how to converse with people in groups without feeling like he was being threatened. After all, how was he meant to show them he was on their side without ever displaying some sort of compassion.

Eren cringed, this was going to be harder for him than he thought it would be. Though if he was honest, he didn't know if he expected anything different.

He was outside moments later, the light of the moon hitting his face. He thought about what he would've been doing on his tree at this time. Likely wondering how things would have been had made it to the walls with Armin and Mikasa all those years ago. He would've still been here, with the scouts, but he would know everyone here personally - and no doubt, they would trust him more, and he would've too.

Eren doubted his abilities would be any different. He would still have his Titan power, even though he had no idea how he had even gotten them. They just felt a part of him, so much so he doubted any sort of change back then would have led to him not having them.

He entered familiar ground moments later, trees overshadowing him and arrow thin wisps of moonlight pierced the brush to strike the ground below. He would rather there was more light, but any complaints of that left him when he saw her through the tree. Her arms were crossed underneath the light, in an attempt to convey herself as annoyed - he had no doubt - but her pretty features simply didn't allow it. It only made her more beautiful.

Eren didn't tell her that. He was sure she already thought he was creepy, and that she held as little trust for him as everyone else. Though the latter brought up questions for him.

"Hey," Eren forced his voice to sound casual, and not at all like the untrusting tone he found it exhibited.

"How?" Was all she said. Her voice wasn't angry, it sounded almost tired.

_How did you know my name?_ Was what was left unsaid in her curt retort. And that all but confirmed it for him. His dreams _weren't_ just dreams. There was some form of truth to them.

"So I'm not crazy?" He allowed a smile. The first genuine one he gave off here. That answered some the questions he's asked himself all these years. Eren had suspected it for a while now but now he had no doubt. How the picture of Armin and Mikasa he had in his mind was of their older selves, how when they had touched him earlier - he had seen them, older and more mature.

His dreams, his visions... They were of the future.

The ability came from his Titan, he knew. That explained the source to him, and a major part of his confusion, but he was still at a loss as to what they meant.

The cut palms with Historia, Armin and Mikasa standing over him, the battle with other Titans... It all made no sense him still.

But it was all in the fucking future.

He knew with certainty that whatever he said here would remain between them. They both had secrets, Eren with his abilities and her with her persona he now understood she had taken, for reasons he still wondered. Both were things they wanted to keep secrets. That didn't mean he would tell her about his abilities, but he felt he could speak a bit more freely about the things he knew and the things he didn't.

"I know a lot about you," And he truly did. There were things about her in his mind that came seemingly from nowhere, some strange enough to make a grown man blush, and they did serve to make to him more anxious. Nothing about her past, he realised, nor what sort of person she would become - just about the things she liked and disliked...

"I know about your favourite food, the books you like to read...How you hate it when someone calls you small," They came out as he realised he knew about them himself, and he didn't stop them, "And how you want to prove yourself to everyone, that you're ambidextrous and that you have a really sensitive-" He did stop himself there, so not have her be disgusted with him - but if anything he said to her did make angry or uncomfortable, he couldn't tell by looking at her.

"You're..." She stared at him, eyes vacant and expressionless, "You're here for me...He sent you, didn't he?"

"He?..." Eren muttered, looking down in confusion, "No one sent me," he went on, louder now, "I only knew you were when I saw you. I haven't been watching you... I don't know who you're talking about. Like I've said, I've been outside the Walls for five years. I don't know anyone here... Except for Armin and Mikasa," he looked back up to her, "And you... I swear I don't want to hurt you. Why-Why would I?"

A thought occurred. If she thought he wanted to hurt her, why did she even leave the note for this? Why did she want to meet him, despite the danger she may have thought he posed?

Eren realised this was the first conversation he's had here without feeling some sort of discomfort, and even then, it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Then explain," She put a bit more distance between them before she stopped, still staring at him as if he wasn't even there.

"You... wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Tell me," She retorted, and Eren came to the understanding that her persona was not just a name change _,_ but her personality too. In her correction of him earlier, she had sounded kind and not all as...cold? He wasn't sure how to put it into words, but it was as if she didn't want to be here, having this conversation with him - but she was obligated to.

"I can see the future," It was vague, but the truth nonetheless and as far as he was willing to go into it.

"That doesn't...make sense," Historia seemed to hesitate, but that contorted into something else, and for the first time that night, Eren could read her expression. She was resolved, "But that doesn't matter, does it?... I'm Krista to you, and everyone else. No one," She seemed to hesitate again, "No one will believe you. You won't ruin this for me."

"I wasn't going to tell anyone, believe me," Eren had no doubt she knew about his isolation from the rest of the group. And she was right, there was no one who would believe him over her, even if he did tell anyone of _this,_ "But why?... Why keep it a secret?" he didn't know why he had even bothered to ask, or why he had strangely expected her to answer him truthfully.

Historia caught something in his words, that she didn't disclose to him. A measure of reluctance visibly left her, and she walked up to and passed him - much to his surprise. Was she just going to ignore his question? He thought she was, and he turned to her - a desire in him to hold his hand out to stop her making him pause. There was something here, something that made him far more comfortable with her than anyone else - despite his own reluctance regarding her.

Erens hand did rise, but she had stopped and spoken before it touched her:

"Why keep what a secret?"

Erens hand fell.


	4. The Catalyst

Eren had stood there, watching her retreating form silently - understanding that the meeting was over. That she had nothing more to say to him.

Raising a bandaged hand, he thought about the strange excitement he had felt when she had approached him just as he left the infirmary, how he had opened his mouth to speak and she had just shoved it into his good hand and left. How it had turned into dread when he thought about how he would even go about explaining how he knew her name if it turned out he was right.

_Honesty_ had been his first inclination, and the thought baffled him. He hadn't even considered telling those he was closest to trusting the truth, but her... Eren had to convince himself not to go that far.

What made her so special?

Eren had no clue. Unless emotions leaked into the present as the visions did for him, whatever comfort he was inclined to associate with her made no sense. But it existed nonetheless, and it was another mystery he would have to see to. It would be difficult still, because he knew she felt no such way for him. There had been no comfort in her eyes, just clear distrust.

The meeting hadn't gone as great as he would have hoped, but Eren wasn't sure how it could have ended any better - considering how cautious they were with each other. They were strangers, meeting for the first time, whilst the pretext of the meeting itself wasn't anything that Eren could consider normal. The odds had been stacked against them the moment he had uttered a name he wasn't supposed to know.

Eren didn't know what to do about her now. He couldn't accept letting this go. His mind refused to push the idea, and the mere image of giving up on Historia brought with it an odd clenching in his heart, that he had only ever felt during his darkest days - when he screamed at the world in anguish and lightning clouded his vision.

Why?

The answer was something he was already getting tired of acknowledging:

He didn't know.

There was a lot of things he just _didn't know._

Eren turned back to where he had last seen her, and he saw she had disappeared into the main building - where both barracks were.

Historia was an important part of his future, that much to him was clear. She brought up in feelings he could say with certainty he's never felt before. It was almost as if the thought of her excited him, but that wasn't quite it. It was a bit more than excitement. It was appreciation, comfort and a sense that he could rely on her. All of that stemmed from his heart.

Eren had to stop himself from giving into all those emotions because he had no idea what they even meant. If there was even a word that compacted all of them.

He sighed and decided to go back to the quarters.

Eren dreaded sleep. He dreaded the idea of having to wake up to another mind-shattering headache the next day, after what would surely be a repeat of a vision he had before or an entirely new one that more questions. So much so that when he entered the barracks - where there were still lingering conversation amongst the boys - and laid on the uncomfortable bed, he stayed up until the last of them had dispersed to their beds before he closed his own eyes to try sleep.

_No, visions...Please._

* * *

Eren had gone through the night dreamless. He was happy for it. Not waking up to the headaches or the sounds of his own shouting. Nevermind the fact that no attention was pulled towards him, the pain of it all was becoming unbearable. Five years going through it and he hadn't - and would never - get used to it. Despite it being a part of him for so long.

At the very least now, he knew they had meant something. They were of the future.

He didn't know how to feel a revelation like that, now that the idea had fully settled. There were questions about it that needed answering. Like if what he saw was set in stone. Would the things he saw happen the way he saw them regardless of what he did? Or did they happen that way because of the visions and what he did because of them?'

Those questions weighed heavily on him that morning. He found himself asking if any decision he made would alter anything.

If he bit his hand now and transformed, in front of Armin and the rest of the boys as they prepared for training, would that change anything at all? He was obviously alive in the future, that much was clear. So they knew he could shift, and hadn't executed him as he was so scared they would at present. So would any choice he made right now change anything?

Again, he almost considered telling them - just to get some of his questions answered.

_Stick to the plan,_ he argued. There was no point in rushing it. The moment would come when it came.

"Where were you yesterday?" Armin's voice pulled him from his thoughts. The blond looked up to him as he fastened his boots, who was leaning on a beam of their bunk. Eren turned to him in confusion, he remembered telling him he was going to use the bathroom - despite not actually going there, "I thought you were taking a bit too long, and went to check on you, in case something was wrong, but you weren't there..."

Eren hadn't expected anyone to come looking for him at all. He didn't think anyone would have cared enough to. He realised he had underestimated how much Armin did care for him. Now that he saw the curiosity in his eyes, Eren wondered how he had. It had been obvious since their first encounter in the mess that his childhood friends still harboured the love they did for him when they were children.

Affection that he found returning to them difficult.

"I wandered out, into the forest. I... needed some air," He answered. Lying to them wasn't difficult, at least in comparison to lying to Historia. Eren didn't know why he couldn't bring himself to trust even them. They had done nothing but be his friends and show their concern when he got back. Doing their best to make him feel included. And all he did was lie to them.

He should've felt guilt about something like that, and he did, but his understanding of it being necessary made him hold his tongue.

"Oh," Armin looked disappointed again. Eren didn't understand why, "That makes sense. Being inside a building for so long must feel strange to you."

"I'll get used to it."

"Yeah...I don't doubt it," He finally stood straight up. At the point the room had emptied, everyone into the corridor, making their way outside. They followed suit, "The training though, that will be another thing altogether."

Eren would watch them today and for the rest of the month because Levi wanted him to 'rest' even after he got permission to train. He guessed he should've been thankful, but he wanted to get it over with. Armin said they had trained for three years in the Training Corps, and for Eren, that would be three years to long at this point. He didn't want to sit out when the Scouts went out on an expedition, he wanted to be part of it, helping humanity.

"You don't sound as enthusiastic about me doing it as you did before," Eren commented.

"Oh, sorry. I know you'll do well, because like I said, you have to be strong after surviving for five years out there. Still, it'll be pretty difficult, even for you. Mikasa's the best of us, and she breezes through most of the exercises, but even she struggles through it sometimes. Though you wouldn't tell by looking at her."

"Mikasa? Is she really that good?" He asked, putting the worries of training at the back of his mind. He found it a bit ironic. She hadn't wanted anything to do with the scouts once, but here she was, being the best of the 104th.

"Of course, you should have seen her when Trost fell-"

" _What?"_ Eren stopped. So great was his surprise that he put a hand on Armin's shoulder, stopping and turning him to face Eren. Luckily, nothing came of the touch.

"W-whats wrong?"The other boy looked visibly nerved by the suddenness of it all, but a realization quickly dawned, 'You didn't know?" He rethought that, as he relaxed, "Of course you didn't. No one told you. Trost was breached a month ago...We were atop Wall Rose when it happened, on cannon duty - before we had even joined a regiment. Then the Colossus Titan appeared with a flash of lightning, almost from nowhere, like it did all those years ago in Shingashina, and made a breach."

Eren didn't know what to think of it. Something like that had been bound to happen again, and he supposed he should have expected it to have. _Colossus Titan,_ Eren deduced that to be the biggest of the two he had seen when he was ten. _With lightning,_ that...

"With lightning," Eren repeated involuntarily, as the revelation sunk, _How didn't you see..._ He felt like an idiot, the biggest one in this world. All his mistrust, all his cautiousness, it had come for the wrong reasons. Reasons he knew he should have determined long ago when he himself had first transformed. It was all too similar, far too similar for him to only realise this now.

He wasn't the only one who could transform.

That should have made him happy, and it almost did, because then he would know he wasn't the only one suffering in silence. There would be others like him, in one way or another. But then he remembered the deeds of these other shifters, and his stomach dropped. They didn't work with humanity, they worked against them _and_ with the Titans to destroy them.

There were traitors, and he was the only one who knew.

_'But why?'_ They had nothing to gain from working with those mindless monsters except the destruction of humanity. Maybe that was exactly what they wanted...

The revelation made him feel different about things. Even he transformed in front of him at the right time, what would stop them from trying to kill him in that instance? They would come to the same conclusion he had just come to now. That the Titans that breached the Walls weren't just Titans, but people too... People that Eren would have to be working with, since he would have kept it all secret for all that time.

What... was he meant to do with that? Humanity was a priority for him, and he would do anything destroy those mindless beasts keeping them here - even if it cost his life, and If he felt that way, why didn't he just tell them now? Waiting for a moment that may never even come felt a bit stupid now. He had all this information, all these things he could share that would benefit humanity and help them better prepare should another attack come.

He had to make them understand _now._ Have them see that he was with them.

_They'll kill you._

The thought came up involuntary, but, _No... They wouldn't._

Telling them about his abilities, and even more than that, about the Armoured and Colossal Titan would have to make them see that he was on humanities side. They would have to see that. There was so much bad he could have done here, so many bad things - but he hadn't. Of course, he had kept it a secret, but he had a reason to - what with the death sentence he knew they would be considering. Surely, they would see why?

Eren reluctantly turned to Armin, who was still staring at him - his eyebrows furrowed in concern and confusion. He could almost see the gears working in his friends' mind.

The Yeager sighed, covering his face with his hands - mentally preparing himself. He was scared. It was almost as if he was out there again, surrounded by things that wanted to devour for being human. It wasn't any different, he decided. Out there, they wanted to kill him because he was human, here they would want to kill him because he was a Titan.

"Eren -"

"I'm a Titan."

His words were met with silence, but it was followed by nervous laughter before long. Eren wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't laughter. Armin should have ran away or tried to off Eren because he didn't understand. Not just stand there and laugh...

"You shouldn't joke like that, Eren."

That made more sense.

"I'm not...Let me show you, then," He started walked down the corridor without waiting for a response, and it took a moment before Armin started following him.

Slowly.

Armin looked to be far more disbelieving than nervous, but he still increased the distance between them practically. Eren spoke, "I kept it a secret because I was...scared."

His friend didn't respond, but he didn't expect him to. But Eren wanted him to know - despite his own growing nervousness. They would either hate him for life or gain the highest understanding of him they've had since he's gotten here.

"Hey Eren," Mikasa had been waiting for them on the turn that led to the girls' barracks, a gentle smile on her lips. But it fell when she caught the serious expression Eren forced himself to wear to hide his nerves, and the growing anxiousness of Armin - whose hands shook by his sides, and his eyes wide as he stared at Erens backside, "What's wrong?"

Eren passed her, "I wasn't lying, you know. About most of the things I told you guys. I don't remember what happened for me to get to that forest. I don't even remember making my way towards the Walls four days ago. And all of the things about the way I survived was also the truth. I just... Didn't tell you or Levi _everything._ Being a Titan made surviving easier. Without that, I wouldn't have lasted a year."

"Eren, what's going on?" Mikasa called from behind him, following them now - her voice displaying her confusion at his words.

"Mikasa..." Armin called to her, and that quietened her.

_There,_ Eren could hear it now. The disbelief that had contorted into fear. He was scared himself, of what would happen after - despite his own reassurances of his survivability.

"And I _am_ sorry for keeping this secret," Eren went on as they finally left the building into daylight.

They were all there, gathered and waiting. Levi, Jean, Marco, Ymir, Historia... Seeing her, he almost felt at ease. Maybe she would understand when he explained it all to them after this. Then they wouldn't this distance she had set up yesterday. She did smile at him then, but Eren was sure it wasn't genuine.

There was another woman there too, one Eren was sure he had never seen before - she shoulder-length brown hair tied up in an unkempt ponytail, wide, brown eyes that grew even wider when she noticed him.

"It's you!" And to Eren's astonishment, she ran straight towards him.

"Hange!" Armin's voice cracked at the shout, but it did the job - stopping her halfway between the gathered group and Eren.

"Hey, why did - where are you going! I still need to get a closer look at you!" She had turned to Armin, and then back to Eren when she noticed him putting some distance between them.

He took a shaky breath when he was far enough. At that point, they all had their eyes on him. Mikasa had a worried and still confused expression. Armin looked anxious and shaky, and Eren was sure he could see tears welling in his eyes. The others just stared at him in unsurity, except Levi, who just looked at him expressionless - as Eren was finding out to be his usual face. _Hange_ was the only one that looked at him excitedly, and that only made Eren more worried.

"I'm sorry for hiding me being a Titan... I'm not... I'm not an enemy, and I never will be. I can control it, so d...d-don't worry about me attacking you," Now that he was here, with all their eyes watching him - it almost felt as if he was surrounded. That _they_ were the Titans at the base of his tree, clawing at it - trying to get to him, to eat and tear him apart for no reason other than his existence.

Hange took a step, "What are you -"

Lightning filled the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, if anyone's got the link to the Historia/Eren ship discord - please send me the link! 
> 
> Thanks.


End file.
